Chapter 66: Zhao Wuji

At that moment, Li Yusong walked over with a smile, saying, "So you're all here. I guess I won't need to call you one by one. Let's head directly to the fourth test."

As soon as Li Yusong spoke, some of the second test candidates voiced their dissatisfaction. A male candidate stood up and asked, "Teacher, why do they get to skip the second and third tests and go straight to the fourth one? That's not fair!"

Li Yusong looked at the boy with a calm expression and replied, "If your spirit power level was also above twenty-five, you could also go directly to the fourth test. If not, then you'll just have to complete each test as assigned."

"Twenty-five spirit power? That's impossible!" the male candidate exclaimed in disbelief. "How could anyone under thirteen have a spirit power above twenty-five?"

"Thirteen years old and already above twenty-five spirit power? That's not realistic! They must be getting special treatment!" murmurs spread among the candidates, all nodding in agreement.

Li Yusong frowned at the accusations. "Special treatment? Do you think our academy operates that way?"

Turning his head towards Zhao Ming and the group, Li Yusong gestured for them to demonstrate.

Without hesitation, each of them released their martial souls.

Four powerful spirits manifested, and the sheer intensity of the spirit power caused the air around them to ripple.

The students present gasped in shock.

"Look at that girl! She's a Spirit Elder!"

"A thousand-year spirit ring! I can't believe it!"

"That guy's spirit ring is orange! What's going on?"

"Those other two look just as strong! Their spirit power must be above level twenty-five as well."

Murmurs of astonishment spread throughout the crowd, and even the teacher supervising the second test was stunned.

Both Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing were also momentarily taken aback. They hadn't yet seen Zhao Ming and Xiao Wu's spirits and were clearly surprised.

Now that their strength was displayed, no one had any more complaints. According to Shrek Academy's rules, students with a spirit power above twenty-five could skip the intermediary tests and go directly to the fourth trial.

The fourth test, of course, involved facing Zhao Wuji.

But Zhao Ming wasn't worried.

Since receiving Medusa as his spirit ring, Zhao Ming had yet to test her abilities. This trial would be the perfect opportunity to gauge her power against Zhao Wuji.

After all, Medusa was skilled in snake combat techniques, and her original form as the Sky Swallowing Python indicated immense strength.

Though her abilities would be diminished somewhat now that she was his spirit ring, Zhao Ming's spirit power wasn't weak either. With his level thirty-five spirit power, he figured her power output should at least be at the level of a high-ranking Spirit Ancestor, if not a Spirit King.

Soon, he'd know for sure.

"We've arrived," Li Yusong said, stopping in front of a clearing slightly smaller than the previous one. At its center, a stocky man lounged in a chair, seemingly half-asleep.

"Old Zhao, the candidates for the fourth test are here," Li Yusong called out, patting the man on the shoulder.

"Huh? Already got fourth-round candidates? And four of them?" the burly man blinked awake, looking surprised.

"Yes, so I'll leave them in your hands," Li Yusong said, giving the group a nod before departing.

"This is Zhao Wuji, one of our teachers and the vice-principal of Shrek Academy. He'll be overseeing your fourth test," Li Yusong introduced.

Zhao Wuji's gaze swept over the group, and his eyes gleamed with interest as he stood up. Though short, he had a solid, muscular build that radiated power.

"Four, huh? Not bad for this year's intake. You must all have at least twenty-five spirit power to make it this far so quickly. But don't think my test will be easy," Zhao Wuji said with a sly grin.

"As you may have already heard, I'm Zhao Wuji, a seventy-sixth level Spirit Saint with a Beast Martial Soul. I'll be personally overseeing your trial."

"You don't need to defeat me. All you need to do is defend against my attacks. I'll be grading you based on your performance. If just one of you manages to last through a stick of incense, you'll pass."

"A Spirit Saint? How can we possibly hold our ground against that?" Xiao Wu grumbled.

"Don't worry. I'm here," Zhao Ming reassured her with a smile, gently squeezing her hand.

"Okay," Xiao Wu's mood quickly lifted, feeling safe and protected by Zhao Ming's presence.

With Xiao Wu calmed, Zhao Ming turned to Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing. "Let's talk about our martial souls and strategize."

"I'll go first. My name is Zhao Ming. My martial soul is the Puppet, and I'm a level thirty-five Spirit Elder."

Xiao Wu followed, "I'm Xiao Wu. My Beast Martial Soul is the Soft Bone Rabbit. I'm a level thirty-one Spirit Elder."

"I'm Ning Rongrong, Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, a level twenty-six Auxiliary Spirit Master," Ning Rongrong said.

"Zhu Zhuqing, Ghost Civet, level twenty-seven Agility Attack Spirit Master," Zhu Zhuqing added in her usual cold tone.

The four briefly exchanged surprised glances before all eyes landed on Zhao Ming.

"Zhao Ming, how old are you?" Zhu Zhuqing asked, her curiosity piqued. Shrek Academy's strict age limit meant no new students could be older than thirteen. Yet, a thirty-five spirit power at such a young age seemed almost impossible.

"I'm twelve," Zhao Ming replied with a smile.

"Twelve?!"

Both Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing were left dumbfounded by his response.

"Alright, let's plan our approach. Ning Rongrong, you're from the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, right?" Zhao Ming asked.

"Yes. I can use my two spirit rings to boost your speed and strength by about thirty percent. I have enough spirit power to sustain the effect for an entire incense stick," Ning Rongrong replied confidently.

"Great. You'll stay at the back and provide support. The rest of us will handle the front line. Xiao Wu and I will take the lead in attacking, while Zhu Zhuqing handles sneak attacks from the sides," Zhao Ming said.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"All set? Let's get started," Zhao Ming called out to Zhao Wuji.

As they moved into position, Zhao Ming held onto Ning Rongrong's soft hand. "Stay close to me. I'll protect you. Zhao Wuji will definitely target you first since you're our support," he said.

"Okay." Ning Rongrong had initially thought Zhao Ming was trying to take advantage of her by holding her hand, but when she heard his explanation, she relaxed and stopped pulling away. He was right—Zhao Wuji would undoubtedly go after her first.

Although Zhao Ming had no ulterior motives, hearing him say, "I'll protect you," made Ning Rongrong feel a warm sensation in her heart.

Could it be?

She glanced at Zhao Ming's calm expression and realized he hadn't meant anything more by it. It seemed she was overthinking things.

---

𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮. 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚!

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼:

• 𝘽𝙤𝙜𝙙𝙖𝙣 𝙋𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙪

• 𝙅𝙘𝟭𝟮𝟬𝟮

• 𝘼𝙝𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙟𝙖𝙝

• 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗯 𝗠𝗼𝗲𝗲

𝗔𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸:

• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: 𝙂𝙚𝙩 𝟴𝟱+ 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.

• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁-𝗢𝘂𝘁: 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩!

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝘁, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀!

👉 𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙬: 𝙋𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣.𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙊𝙛𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧